Computerized mapping products have simplified navigation by combining numerous data sources. For example, visual representations of areas on the earth (e.g., graphical maps, aerial, human-scale or street-side, and other image data), may be combined with geographic coordinate system data (e.g., latitude and longitude, vertical datum, Cartesian coordinates, survey data, global positioning system (GPS) data, etc.) to develop computerized maps. Further, the geographic coordinate system data itself may be used to create a computerized representation of an area. As geographic coordinate system data and image data becomes more accurate and widely available, detailed maps have become readily available for use on a variety of computerized devices.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integrate, store, edit, analyze, share, and display geographic data, for example, street addresses or geodetic datum such as lat/long coordinates. In a more generic sense, GIS applications are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data, maps, and present the results of all these operations, often from several different views of a digitized map (e.g., a graphical image, orthorectified aerial imagery, oblique aerial imagery, or human-scale/street level imagery). The images in the GIS often use a technique generally referred to as “geocoding” to calculate geographic coordinates (e.g., lat/long) from other geographic data, such as street addresses, or zip codes. With geographic coordinates, the features can be mapped and entered into a GIS and displayed, or the coordinates can be embedded into media such as digital imagery via geotagging.
Each point on the map or image includes a numeric value representing a three-dimensional point. Reverse geocoding is the opposite: finding an associated textual location such as a street address, from geographic coordinates. In a typical GIS, a user may enter a street address and the GIS will access geographic data to display an indication or “geolocation” of that address on a digital image, map, or other illustration on a display of a computing device. However, because of the errors and inaccuracies of the geographic data described above, a geocoded indication of the street address on the illustration often does not provide useful information to the user. For example, the geocoder may locate a street address to within a several meters (e.g., a half block or so), but often lacks the detailed data to accurately locate a usable location for the address, such as a business front door, a suite location, a floor location, etc. Further complicating the display of the information is that a GIS often includes much more information than can be displayed for listed businesses near the business' geolocation (e.g., hours, menus, reviews, payment options, etc.).